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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Truffled Mac n' Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Tucked along the Rio Grand in the quiet hill country of Texas is Hudson's on the Bend, a restaurant that has fed presidents, Hollywood royalty and a real king or two. The restaurant is known for its preparation of wild game and fish and the big flavors produced by Chef Jeff Blank and his kitchen staff. I received one of Jeff's cookbooks last Christmas. While perusing the book I came across a recipe for truffled Mac n' Cheese and knew I had to try it. I want to share it with you today. Those of you who visit me on a regular basis know that the first time I use a recipe developed by a culinary star, I follow the recipe exactly as it was written. The habit is annoying to some, but I think it's the only fair way to judge the success of the dish and the chef. After that all bets are off. I've been known to completely rewrite some of the creations that find their way to my kitchen. I have not done that with today's recipe, but I have some suggestions for those of you who want to try it. This is a delicious dish, but it's extraordinarily rich. In addition to copious amounts of butter and cheese, the recipe calls for a quart of heavy cream. The second time I made the dish I replaced heavy cream with light cream and added the juice of half a lemon to the liquid as well. I made tonight's version with whole milk. The truffle oil is a must, as is the use of a soft herbed cheese. Even with the revisions, the dish is extraordinarily rich. It is also delicious. If you love mac n' cheese you owe to yourself to give this a try. Here's the recipe as it was originally written.

I am drooling over this, and gaining weight just reading it. I think this is a recipe to try for a cold and rainy day, and make sure I have time to take a nap after eating. This mac n' cheese actually looks like an EXPERIENCE!

Mary, BTW, I do the same thing -- I make a recipe first time as is -- then I fiddle. I owe it to the person who I got the recipe from (be it cookbook or friend) not to fiddle until I've tried it there way!

Mary, this is just over the top. I can't imagine mac n' cheese with truffle oil but it must be fantastic. Very rich as you say. I love how you served it in a scallop dish for a small portion. Lovely in all ways.

I happen to have a bottle of truffle oil in my refrigerator at home that we brought back from France. I'll give your light version a try when I return in the spring.Sam

Talk about a special event dish! I know lots of restaurants offer truffled mac n cheese, but I have not yet indulged. Sounds so flippin' good. Definitely something I will have to try whenever I make my first truffle oil purchase.

Oh my gosh I couldn't believe it when I checked your post and saw a recipe from Hudson's! My sister lives not but two miles from there and other Texas friends of mine have even done cooking classes with Jeff - supposed to be fantastic. Love your idea of using whole milk though!

Holy Macaroni. . .I am DYING to try this one. The Howell clan loves us some mac and cheese (NOT from a box. . .as my son says). I love trying all sorts of variations so thank you for posting so many recipes. I'm sure at some point I will work myself through several! Yummy!!!

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